


Yonder Window Breaks

by mizufallsfromkumo



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Breaking and Entering, Card Games, Friendship, Gen, Mentions of Batman - Freeform, Mentions of the team - Freeform, mentions of Bruce, window climbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 07:52:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11824320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizufallsfromkumo/pseuds/mizufallsfromkumo
Summary: Artemis blinks at him in shock.  Because honestly, last person she ever expected to find trying to break into her room was Dick Grayson.  But then again Grayson is something of an odd ball if their interactions were anything to note.OrThe 5 times Dick Grayson climbed through Artemis’ window unannounced, and the 1 time she crawled through his.





	Yonder Window Breaks

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, this is my first fic for the Young Justice. 
> 
> I suddenly got back into the show (likely because Season 3 is on the horizon) and fell into everything _hard_. Like way harder then when the show was airing. So I wrote a little fic. It's based mostly on the show, and some of my brief knowledge of DC's comics and other media in general. So like bare with me a little, kay?
> 
>  
> 
> There will probably be more in the future, because I have a ton of little plot bunnies running around my head at the moment.

1

\--

It was late on a Saturday night, like definitely past midnight kind of late.  Artemis was half way to  _ finally _ falling asleep, when she heard it.

The lock on the window over Jade’s old bed rattling.  Rattling ever so slightly, like someone with usual skill and experience was struggling to wiggle the lock out of the way.  It was times like these Artemis was glad the lock stuck and refused to move.  It at least gives her warning someone is trying to crawl into her room.

Carefully, Artemis rolled over, doing her best to pretend to be asleep in case whoever was trying to break in noticed her move.  They didn’t seem to.  

Slowly, she reached for her bow under the bed, before deciding halfway that the maybe the baseball bat was better.  At least for some thug or junky just looking for quick buck.  After all people don’t really have bows and arrows in Gotham.  Her hand clasped around the handle of the bat, and she repositioned herself to strike whenever the idiot got through, if they decided the effort as worth it.

But then suddenly the rattling stopped.

Artemis froze, pretending even harder to be asleep, and straining her ears for whoever was there make their way else were on the fire escape.  A moment of heavy silence hung around.

Then there was a soft knock. 

Like a test, of sorts.  It’s light knuckles against glass, audible, but not loud.  A timid attempt at a knock, no doubt to see if she responded.  Artemis stays still however, she’s rigid, willing whoever was there to just go away.  Her mother worries enough as is.

There is another knock, more present in it’s sound.  Who ever was knock knows she’s there and awake.

“Artemis, I know you're awake, I can see you.”  A voice states through the window pane.

The archers blood runs cold for a second.  

The voice vague sounds familiar, and her mind quickly supplies  _ Robin. _  She panics briefly, fearing for a moment that the Boy Wonder had figured out who she was and swung by for a visit.  Because even though Batman swore not to tell, she had seen Robin hack and put his nose where it really shouldn’t be allowed.  If anyone was going to figure it out, it was Robin, and the little punk would probably pull something like this to watch her squirm.

“Artemis.”  The voice starts again, almost song like.  “Open the window…please?  It’s kind of cold and damp out.”  The voice complains with an annoying timed tapping on the glass.

The more the voice the talked the less it sounded like Robin.  If she recalled he told Wally, ‘ _ Hello, work in the Bat Cave’ _ when the speedster asked why he wasn’t so bothered by the damp dark shafts of an old mine during a mission.  Artemis was pretty sure the last thing Robin would complain about was being mildly cold and damp.

“Artemis.  Artemis.”  The voice called her name.  “ _ Artemis!” _

“What!?”  She snapped annoyed, springing from her bed towards the window.

To her surprise, she came face to face with the sight of Dick Grayson behind the glass.  

Dick Grayson, the student Gotham Academy couldn’t stop chattering about in one way or another.  

Dick Grayson, probably the most notable teen in Gotham as Bruce Wayne’s...child.  

Dick Grayson, the annoying little freshman that took Artemis’ picture her first day of school and she’s maybe had like 5 conversations longer than like three sentences with since then.

Just standing there, beaming at her in pale moonlight in the middle of the night.

Artemis blinks at him in shock.  Because honestly, last person she ever expected to find trying to break into her room was Dick Grayson.  But then again Grayson is something of an odd ball if their interactions were anything to note.  He cartwheeled away from her once when they were done talking, for no reason other than he simply could.

Grayson cleared his throat after a moment.  Pointing at the window lock when he noticed he had Artemis attention.

“Oh right,”  Artemis muttered to herself.  She dropped the back down on the floor, and rushed to the lock.  It gives after two good tugs.  “What the hell are you doing here, Grayson?!”  She hissed as she opened the window, ushering him inside.  The last thing she needs is Wanye’s kid robbed outside her apartment building.

It was an honest question.  Wayne lived on the other side of town, in a huge mansion with like grounds, and security gates.  No where near the crime infested streets and crumpling part of town she lived in.  For some rich kid to come all the way across Gotham at  _ night  _ was unheard of...unfathomable.   How did he not get jumped.  Even if he is in a nondescript hoodie and jeans, they were still a  _ nice _ nondescript hoodie and jeans.

“You know, you’re worse than Barbs trying to pretend to sleep.”  Grayson states as he effortlessly crawled through the window, and rolls off the bed to his feet.  “And she’s terrible.”

“Great,”  Artemis snapped as she closed the window.  “You didn’t answer my question.  Why are you here, trying to break into my room?”

“I wasn’t trying to break in.”  Grayson objects.

“You were trying to simming the lock.”  Artemis pointed out venomously.  “I  _ heard  _ you.” She glared at Grayson harshly as she got off the bed.  “Now, what are you doing here?  How do you even know where I live.”

“You’re a Wayne Scholarship kid.  Bruce has your address on file.”  Grayson answered easily with a chuckle.  

He picks at the wood at the foot of the bed frame as he looks around her room.  A sudden sort of nervous air around him, which manages to put Artemis just slightly on edge.  Honestly, he’s lucky she isn’t threatening to call the cops.  After all it’s late and he’s avoid the big question.

“Still doesn’t answer the question of what you're doing here?”  Artemis returned crossing her arms.

“I needed to get away for while.”  Grayson admits, sheepishly turning to the bedpost.  “Away from... _ stuff _ and such.  Go somewhere that just isn’t  _ there _ , you know.”  He added with a weak little shrug. Then his tone brightened for a moment.  “He won’t think to look here, that is if he even notices I left, which I hope he doesn’t.”

“You ran away?”  Artemis asked lightly.

“No.  Just temperaturally left residence for some fresh air.”  Grayson countered. 

Artemis raised an eyebrow at him,  and snorted. Some fresh air he got coming to this side of gotham to get away.

“I just needed to get away from everything that whole...mansion make me.”  Grayson clarified with a sigh.  “I don’t know, I thought you’d understand,” he added with another shrug, before peeking at her. 

Artemis sighed after a moment.  She did understand what he what he meant.  It was her choice to join the team and take up being a hero.  An attempt to move past the family blood that has her in constant fear of being discovered.  Might not be what Grayson was after, but it’s a similar enough boat for her to understand how it works.

“Mind if I crash here, just for tonight?”  He asked, in a polite plea, and like blue puppy dog eyes.

“Fine, whatever.”  She huffed, moving to pick up the bat and shove it under her bed.

“You want to play card?”  he asked, producing a pack of playing cards from his pocket.

Artemis really wanted to go back to sleep.  Between missions and training with the team,and patrolling with Green Arrow,  she hasn’t slept in much since school started.  It would be nice to get some decent sleep before her next mission.  Not to mention is  _ 1:24 _ am.

But Grayson is beaming at her so hopeful.  And like if she played her cards right, she could cream him at poker and maybe win some money off him.

“You know how to play poker?”

Grayson’s smirk should have been more of warning than she originally took it as.

* * *

2

\--

It was 10:30 on a Thursday night, and Artemis is desperately trying understand her German grammar homework.  Honestly why couldn’t Gotham Academy offer courses like Spanish or French like a normal school.  Instead of like Latin, German, and handful of other languages nowhere close to the two, or anything else she knows how to speak. Lucky her.

Doesn’t help that she is beat from training with the team.  

Black Canary really ran them all through the ringer.  Which Artemis applications, as well as being able to throw Wally to the ground, over and over again till the move starts to become muscle memory.  But Wally had to practice throwing her down, and he seemed to enjoy it just as much as she did.

Artemis really wants to curl up in her bed, and not even think about homework.  Just sleep until her alarm and then some.

Of course, she can’t do that.  Her mother will get on her about homework, and blah, blah, blah.  Artemis really doesn’t want a lecture.  So she’ll do her homework, for however long it takes, and go to bed when she’s done.  Which might not be for another hour or so...if she’s lucky.

The sound of the window lock flicking free faintly catches her ear.  

Before she can turn to the sound, the window over her bed is already being pulled up.  She reaches for her German textbook, which is thankfully thick, and tightens into a fighting stance.  Who ever opened her window rolls in over her headboard with flexible ease.

“Hey Artemis,”  Grayson beams up at her, like their the best of friends.  Best friends who break into each other’s rooms is like their thing. “That window is so much easier to open then the other one.  Good to know.”

Artemis blinks at the dark haired freshman sitting on her bed in too  _ nice _ nondescript hoodie and jeans, and being semi mindful of his shoes on her bedspread.  She lower her book just slightly.  Glaring at the younger teen carefully.

“What the hell, Grayson?”  Artemis snapped.  “You know I have a door right?”

“Were you seriously about to fight me with a German textbook?”  Grayson questioned, pointing at the book still in her hands.  And then he like half snickers at the idea. 

Artemis growled.  She raised the book slightly, a small threat to hit him.  Lightly, of course, just to make something of a point.  Like breaking into her room is not cool, and he’s insane for once again travelling all of Gotham at night to crawl through her window for whatever reason.

Yet Grayson might actually find that hysterical and laugh too loud and wake her mom.

“What are you doing here... _ again? _ ”  She hissed.

“Same as last time.”  Grayson stated with a shrug, like his weird vague answer was enough last time.  “There was a disagreement, I needed space, like all of Gotham space.  I saw your light was still on.”  He moved to put his feet off the side of her bed.  “That and maybe I wanted to beat you a poker again.”

“We’re not doing that again.”  Artemis informed flatly.

She couldn’t afford to lose another fifty bucks to Grayson. Honestly, she really couldn’t afford to, she had like a five dollar bill and that was it.  And she was not going to let Grayson, possible heir to  _ billions  _ of Wayne money, have it because he beat her at poker.

Grayson frowned at her slightly.

“Fine,” He sighed a bit dramatically.  “We’ll do something else.”

“Yeah, you go home and I do my german homework.”  Artemis instructed as she moved towards her desk again.

Grayson frowned at her, before he crossed his arms and pouts.  Like a freaking five year old.  And the fact that he’s tiny and baby faced doesn’t help him not look some young kid.

“ _ Was für ein lustiger Spaß _ ” He huffed suddenly.

Artemis froze, blinking at the boy in shock for a moment.  But it fades quickly.  Because  _ of course _ he spoke German.  And of course it sounds perfect and easy, and just like her teacher.

“ _ Du verstehst mich nicht, oder? _ ” Grayson continue with a smirk. “ _ Oh die Dinge, die ich dir erzählen könnte, und du wirst kein einziges Wort verstehen. _ ”  The boy snickered at her gleefully.

“I get it, you can speak German.”  Artemis snapped, plopping down.

“I know enough to get by in a detailed conversation.”  Grayson stated like it was a flaw.  Meanwhile Artemis is just barely grasping the mere basics of the language.  “I’m way more fluent in other languages.”

“Good for you,”  Artemis grumbled turning back to her homework.  “Now go home, I’d like to finish my homework before my alarm, thank you very much.”

“I can help you.”  Grayson suggested quickly and easily, moving just a little closer to the foot of her bed.

Artemis looked at him for a good moment.  Grayson face was filled with general helpfulness and hope.  Probably because if she lets him help he can stay there just a little bit longer.

She considers telling him she can handle it.  She can figure it out all on her own and she didn’t need his help.  But she really does want to go to bed before midnight, and there wasn’t anyone else offering help.  It wasn’t going to kill her to get some help on a question or two...or seven.  Especially when Grayson is offering help.

“Alright fine.” Artemis agrees, watching the boy sprang off the bed and made his way towards her.  “But when I’m done you leave and go home.”

“ _ Versprechen. _ ”  Grayson said with a wide smile.

God he was such a show off.

* * *

3

\--

It was two in the morning and Artemis couldn’t sleep.

The events of the team's botched ‘psychic’ simulation training exercise from two days ago still swirling in her head.  It never really stopped, as much as she tried not to think about it.  Everything about it kept consistently eating at her.

Sure she ‘died’, and her ‘death’ suddenly made it all sort of real, and she was fell into a coma.  But she was still mental connected to everyone, and coma patients dream.  

She had been there too, through all of it, experiencing it as everyone of her team members.  Feeling everything they felt as they lost and mourned and lost.  From Wally’s rage, to Kaldur’s panic and bravery.  M’gann’s constant sadness to Superboy’s controlled panic.  And Robins horrifying realization he’s going to send everyone to their deaths.  It all just filtered right through her mind as if it was all her own.

It all eats at her as she stares up at her ceiling.

She can’t sleep.  She had been trying to the past day to just sleep.  Only to just dream it all, and sputter awake.

With a sigh, she rolled over to fact her wall.  She pulled the blankets tightly over her shoulder, curling in on herself.  Willing herself to think of something other than the exercise, or the team, or not being able to sleep.  Only it turns out that is all she can think about it.

She heard the lock on her window flick free,and the window slowly and faintly slide open.  

Artemis doesn't even bother.  Just groaned lightly and nuzzled into her pillow and willed herself to sleep.  She already had a feeling who it was and she wasn’t in the mood.

“Artemis?”  Grayson’s voice asked softly above her.

A weak sort of soft, Artemis notices. And not just in the sense of testing to see if Artemis is a sleep.  It’s almost borderline little-kid-had-a-nightmare vibe.  The kind of soft that annoyingly melts away Artemis’ plan to tell Grayson to go away and bother someone else.

She hummed lightly in response, turning to look up at him.

Grayson’s leaning through her window over her.  A shadow of a smile on his face as she acknowledges him and doesn’t tell him to go away.  He doesn’t come crawling in like he had the last few times her fiddled with her locks.

“Running away again?”  She asked softly.

“Bad dream of sorts.”  Grayson informed from above her.  “The kind Bruce can’t understand.”  His paused for a moment.  Artemis could hear his fingers tapping on her window sill. “Mind if I come in.”

Artemis surprisingly shook her head, moving to sit up in her bed.  Giving Grayson room to crawl over her headboard.  

He does so easily.  Crawling through the window, pausing to throw his shoes on the floor, before he steps on the bed, closing the window behind him.  He easily tip toes over her and silently steps off to the ground.  Sitting in the space where her legs where before she pulled them closed to her chest.

“So you’re on the bad dream bandwagon too?”  Artemis asked in a gentle whisper.  Her reply is a silently nod she can just barely make out in the dark.  “Scarecrow must off put something in the water.”

_ If only _ . Artemis thought to herself.

Grayson snorts at the comment. Together they half giggle at the idea, before it dies and leaves them in silence.

“You okay?”  Artemis asked after a few moments.

“Yeah...just need to get away.”

“You don’t say.”  Artemis returned with a roll of her eyes.  Something she was sure the other teen couldn’t see in the dark.  

The breath of a laugh from Grayson is enough for her.

“What about you, you okay?”  Grayson asked.  Artemis stiffens at the words, turning to look at the digits of her alarm clock.  “You said bad-dream bandwagon...I figured…”

“It’s nothing serious,”  Artemis sighed out quickly.  “Just a designed to fail scenario in my head.”

“Hate those.”

“Yeah, they really suck.”  Artemis grumbled.

A silence washed over them.  It was nice, for once.  Everything is still swirling around in her head, but for the first time it doesn’t feel like it’s going to consume her.  Like even Grayson had no clue what she was talking about, it felt nice to say it to him, and have him get it.

“You know, it’s late.  Like really  _ late _ .” Artemis started.  “Like even Batman is probably getting some sleep late,”  Grayson snorted loudly at that.  “Why don’t you just crash here for tonight, and leave, out the front door preferably, when the sun is out?”

“Artemis, that is quiet the sug--”

“In the other bed, you weirdo.”  Artemis snapped, but a smile crept onto her lips as Grayson laughed. She knew he was joking, but  _ still. _

His laugh was light and fluttery, with a warmth that shoos the horrors away for a moment.  

She watched as the boy got up from her bed and walked over to Jade’s old bed.  She hears the springs creak loudly as he dropped down on it.  She could just make out his form as he shifted around on the bed, ruffled the sheets.  

Artemis laided back down on her bed, turning to peer at Grayson on the other bed.

“Hey can I ask you something?”  Artemis asked.

“You just did.”  Grayson snickers playfully, and Artemis growls.  “Yeah, sure, I guess.”

“How do you know how to shimmy a window open?”  She asked curiously.

Grayson rolls over on the bed, on his side to face her.  “I’ll you my secrets if you tell me yours.”  Grayson returned after a moment, and Artemis can hear the smile in his voice.  “This is turning out to be quite a sleepover.”

“God, you really live up to your name, sometimes you know that.”  Artemis snapped quickly.  

“Part of my goal in life.”  Grayson returns easily.

“Go to sleep, Grayson.”  Artemis commanded as she nuzzled into her pillow.

“You asked a question.”

“Go to sleep,  _ Dick! _ ”  

Grayson chuckled on the other side of the room.  Artemis hears the sheets shuffle for a moment before he stills.  He mutters something  she doesn’t completely caught, other than it’s not really English.

“Night Artemis,”  He added lightly.

“Night,”  She returned, just as she started to feel sleep creep up and grab her.

Her mother came into her room the following morning, and discovered Grayson still passed out sleep.  Woke them both up, and Grayson volted out the window with a small ‘see you at school Artemis’, leaving Artemis to explain.

He really was a dick.

* * *

4

\--

Dick was in the process of crawling through Jade’s old sticky lock window when Artemis entered her room after brushing her teeth.  He somersaulted over the bed’s headboard with a small hey as Artemis closed her door.  The scurried back to close and relock the window.

The boy’s habit of crawling through her window at night had lost it’s surprise.  Not just because he had done it three times prior, but because they had become something of friends at school.  

Like actually conversed, and hang around on the school grounds before school and during lunch. Instead of his bursts of conversations, or whatever he use to to do before. 

Artemis really got to kind of know the weirdness that is Dick Grayson, after he spend the night the last time he was in her room.  She found he’s not really that weird, just eccentric and coping in his own way.  Artemis can get on board with that.  It beat everyone’s else's cautious and stuck up behavior they had around her. 

Plus Barbara was great, and it was nice to talk to someone about Dick’s weird habit of breaking into rooms at night.

“Figured out the sticky lock.”  Dick grinned crossing his legs.  He proudly short of wiggles as he crosses his legs on the bed.  “Only took me like three minutes, but I blame the lock for being stubborn.”

Artemis hummed at the other teen, as she walked towards her bed.  

“It’s kind of early for you, isn’t it?”  She asked playfully.

It was nearly eleven, not the earliest he had crawled through her window.  No, he only missed that by about fifteen minutes.  But she still feels like pointing it out, just to here him huff and mutter that it’s really not that early considering they have school tomorrow.

Ever responsible Grayson.

“I’m not going to play three rounds of poker.”  Artemis added with a smirk as she turned to the younger teen.  “Not unless you're willing to play for rejected Halloween candy still laying around.”

“Oh, hard pass.”  Dick said with a fake frown.  “Besides, I think playing poker with an Uno deck would be hard to do anyway.”  He produces an Uno deck from his hoodie pocket.

Artemis rolled her eyes at him.  Half wondering if at some point down the line in whatever this is, he’s just going to pull out a monopoly board out of there.  She shakes her head the thought, because it doesn't seem that far out there.

She moved to join him on Jade’s old bed with something a of huff.  She orders him to deal as she crossed her legs at the foot of the bed.  Dick chuckled at her, muttering “the challengers accepts” and he shuffles the deck with a bit too much flare.  Artemis just tells him to stop wasting time and deal.

Their first two games aren’t terribly long.  Lucky hands for each of them really, leaving both games uneventful.  Artemis accuse Dick of being bad a shuffling as she snatched the deck away from him after the second game.  Dick rolls his eyes at her and lightly pouts as she dealt out the third hand.

The two were deep in the throws of their third game when she noticed it.

Artemis was staring at Dick as he examined the card in his hand.  Contemplating his next move against her.  Or just toying with her, because he can be like a cat swatting at it’s prey sometimes.  It was hard to tell sometimes.  But she saw it.

The ever slight puffiness to the side of his face. 

It’s just slight enough to go unnoticed by most people who weren’t trained to pay acute attention to details around them. But she knows a bruise when she sees one, a day or so old or not.

The blonde archer reached out suddenly.  Her hand is inches from touching Dicks face before he notices what she’s going.  He half leans back away from her, clutching he cards to his chest.  But before he had ask what she’s going, she reaches him and rubs her hand on his cheek with light force.

Dick hisses, swatting away her hand and leaning further out of her reach.  But the damage is already done to the make up.  It’s smudged enough for an ugly dark purple seep through.  Dick covers it up quickly with his hand.

“It’s not what you think.” Dick added hurriedly.

“What you knock yourself in the face with a car door?”  Artemis breathed out evenly as she glanced down at Dick.  “Or trip in the kitchen?”

The angry in her belly surprised her a little bit.  Because Dick’s a good kid, like a  _ really _ good kid.  And she’s heard the whispers at the academy of all the speculation that is Bruce’s and Dick’s relationship.  But she never believed any of them, because she’s seen them interact before and there was nothing to suggest anything.  But appearances are everything in the world of Gotham elite.  

Artemis kicks herself for not noticing sooner. For not connecting the dots, of Dick’s late night run aways to somewhere else.  The vagueness he clouded all of his reasons for being there.  She should have noticed sooner.

“Tell me what really happened, Dick.”  Artemis stated, tossing her cards aside and shoving the game out of the way as she sharply moved closer to Dick.  

“I fell off the double bars...gotta hit to the face.”  Dick returned quickly.  Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. His word just aren’t quite truthful enough, like he’s hiding something just underneath it all.  “Honestly, Artemis.  Misjudged a flip and pole to the face.”  Dick said in an almost plea.

“You don’t have to protect him,”  Artemis points out in a dangerous tone.

“What...I’m not protecting anyone,”  Dick informed sharply.  

Artemis growled down at him.  Dick leaned up some in return.  A sort of challenging thrown at her as he did so.

“It’s seriously not what you think.  Bruce would never hit me, Alfred probably sock him in the face if he even tried, and vise versa.”  The younger teen explained hurriedly.  “The most Bruce as ever hurt was when he accidently hit me in the head with a nerf arrow.  Seriously, I fell off the double bars and got a nasty bruise, and well, I know you’ve heard there whispered rumors about us.”

Artemis nodded with a shutter.  Some of them terrible, it bothers her that people so openingly talk about it.

“The tabloids would have a field day.”  Dick stated matter factly.  “I can’t do that to Bruce, so you know...covered it up.

It’s almost easy to forget Dick Grayson in something of Bruce Wayne’s spotlight.  Easily caught up in the celebrity gossip and treatment that comes with being close to Gotham’s most promenade  _ everything _ .  The paparazzi likes to follow Dick around too sometimes, for like anything they can get.

“That’s fair...I guess.”  Artemis said leaning away from Dick.  She believes the other teen.  There was some honesty is dripping off his words.  “But you know, you could say something if you need to.” 

Dick nodded and seemed to relax a little bit, as he tried to smudge the ruined make up back over to the bruise.  It doesn’t really work well.  But it’s night, and no one has idea he’s even there in her room.

“I’m sure Barbara and I can get control of the Bat Signal, and help you out, if we needed to.”  Artemis added lightly as she moved back towards the head of the bed.  She could do it without the stupid spotlight if she wanted too.

Dick burst out laughing at that.

* * *

5

\--

Dick is already sitting on Jade’s old bed when Artemis returned home and entered her room at half past midnight.

Artemis had spent most of the evening with most of the team.  There wasn’t a mission waiting for them.  Black Canary was in Europe assisting other league members with an issue there.  So they had ordered ‘bonding’ time, meaning they sat around eating pizza, some of M’gann’s cookies, and watched cheesy old movies.  And tried not to talk about the argument Batman and Robin got into briefly before they zetaed away.  

Well Robin zetaed away first in an angry huff, Batman followed a moment later.

Dick was fuming about something as he sat on the bed.  His arms crossed and she can make out a deep frown on his face.  He greets her with little more than a grunt as she closed the door.

It was a surprise to find the other teen sitting in her room.  As of late, he had given the courtesy of calling or texting before just showing up at her window with card games.  Which was, you know, nice.  

And Artemis knew he hadn’t texted or called her.  She had he phone on her the whole night.  Only her mother had called to ask her to pick up a few things up at the store when she came home.  And Wally had been texting her endlessly since she left with worries about the fact that Robin isn’t returning  _ anything _ from him, and if she got home safe.  There had been nothing from Dick.

“I have a boyfriend, you know.”  Artemis said in a light teasing tone as she moved to turn on a light.  “I’m sure he’ll just love the idea of a rich kid breaking into my room and waiting in the dark.”

Dick glanced up at her for a moment with an angry sort of glaring face at her.  Then he signed and the tension in his...body drained away slightly.  “Sorry,”  He apologized suddenly, but there is still anger tight in his voice. “I just had to get out the manor.  Didn’t really grab my phone on the way out the front door.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow at him.  

If she remembered correctly, Dick always talked like he snuck out the house.  Like through a window or some back door in the manor, doing his best to go unnoticed.  Using the front door almost made it sound like stormed out and wanted Wayne to know he leaving.

“Loud disagreement?” Artemis asked, using his own vague words for fight.  

Shouting matches with mother usually had Artemis storming out the front door too sometimes.  So it didn’t feel like too much of a leap to figure Dick and Wayne shouted it out about something.  Dick as reaching the age where parental figures just clash with like  _ everything. _

Dick didn’t answer.

“About what happened at school today?” Artemis asked.

There had been an incident at school involving some sophomore jerkwads at school.  Jerkwads, who apparently decided Grayson was in need of some kind of lesson or something, Artemis wasn’t really sure.  She only saw one far big boy swing at Dick, who with amazing speed and grace ducked.  Which did not help the situation as the boy punched the lockers bedside Dick with a loud clack, and he kicked Grayson in return.

A kick, Dick had stopped and shoved away before it ever made contact.  Artemis had seen Dick coil, like he was reading to fight, but hesitated just for a moment.  It’s just enough for the idiot to kick Dick in the face and knock him back off his feet.

Artemis and Barbara had managed cut in before the other boys could actually pounce.  More than shooing the boys away as Grayson grumbled and sprang to his feet.  Of course, a teacher saw the whole thing and parents were called. The whole thing had put Dick in a sour mood the rest of the day.

“Among like  _ seven _ others, yeah.”  Dick huffed.

He turned and glared out the window.  He gripped tightly onto the arm of his hoodie as he did so.  

Artemis had never seen him this worked up before.  Usually when he came over, he was like mildly annoyed at the most.  Whatever he really might have been feeling was hidden under his usual cheerful persona.

“So like eight games of cards.”  Artemis hummed as she dropped down on her bed.

Dick turned to her for a moment.  He blinked at her, blue eyes sparkling with something, before he looked down.

“I forgot to grab cards on the way out too.”  His informed with an annoyed frown.

“Well then,”  Artemis started as she leaned back on her bed, kicking her feet up in pretend thought.  “I think we have Scrabble somewhere in this apartment, unless you want to sit and talk vaguely about issues.”

“Scrabble is fine.”  Dick beamed at the suggestion.

It took Artemis a few minutes to find the old game buried in some closet.  It was dusty, the board was slightly tearing, and Artemis was sure a few tiles were missing, but it was fine.  It worked enough for them to play Dicks insane suggestion of playing with 9 letters instead of the usual 7.

It wasn’t the smoothest game Artemis had ever played.  Dick liked laying out words that weren’t exactly words.  Arguing to the point of Robin’s random questioning of English when he brings them up.  And Dick liked to argue two letter words were not accepted.  

Artemis wasn’t really sure how they played three games without waking up her mother.

It’s three in the morning when Dick decided it might be best to return home.  He helped Artemis back up the game, and crawled out her window again.

“Thanks, Artemis, that was fun.”  He said as he turned back on the fire escape.

“Welcome,”  She smiled out return.  “Try not to get jumped on your way home.  Really do not want an that falling back on me.”

Dick snorted, like he always did when she said that.  It’s become a departing thing between them on nights like this.  Dick laughs as he descended down the fire escape and hurried off into the darkness.  

“Please, they’d have to be able to reach me first.”  Dick said as he reached under his hoodie and pulled something out. 

The familiar sound of Robin’s grabler releasing and flying though the air filled the air around them.  Artemis paused in her movements to close window, staring at Dick.  Who was still holding his arm out into the darkness, and his grinning widely at her the same way Robin did when he knew something the rest of the team didn’t.

“Besides Batman would be more angry that someone got the drop on me, that the fact that I was here before it happened.”  Dick grinned out, while Artemis felt her jaw dropping.

Because, of course, she would find out this way.   _ Of course. _  It’s such a Robin and Dick thing to do.  Toy and dangle his secret knowledge is someone’s face and act all innocent in the process.

“Also,” he continued, moved to step onto the fire escape railing.  “I’ve decided tell the team, Batman be damned.”  And then Dick jumps off the railing, soaring off into the dark with his signature cackle.

Leaving Artemis just staring.

* * *

+1

\--

It was late.  Like the sun was going to rise in an hour or two kind of late.  Not that Artemis really cares.

She carefully made her way across the rooftop.  She effortless slid down the ladder on the roof to the fire escape.  The metal giving a light thump as she landed easily on the platform before.  Quietly she made her way down the stairs, to the next level.

She made her way to one of the windows.  Pulling out a knife from her utility belt, she eased up to the sill, ignoring the few pots of dirt around it.  She carefully wedged her knife between the panes, effortlessly wiggling the lock free.  She put the knife away as she stood up before wrenching the window open with a light huff.  

Artemis swung a leg inside the top apartment, ducking in through a few light blocking curtains.  She pulled her other leg in, before silently easing the window closed again.

“I have a front door you know,” A familiar voice stated flatly.

Artemis turned sharply to the sound.  Finding Dick sitting at his kitchen counter staring down at a laptop intently.  He didn’t even look up at her as he sipped some steaming liquid from a coffee cup beside him.  But Artemis figured he already saw her already.

“You never used mine.”  Artemis returned as she pulled off her Tigress mask. 

She dropped it down on on Dick’s coffee table. Next to an array newspaper articles, folders, random books, and his own discarded Nightwing mask.

“That’s not true,”  He defended, briefly moving his eyes away from the screen to glare at her.  “I used it  _ once _ to leave.”

Artemis made an sound of fake awe as she wiggled in hands.  Dick huffed a laugh, before fastly typing something on the laptop's keyboard.  Artemis made her way slowly made her way towards the kitchen, watching Dick the whole time.  

The young male sighed once he finished typing.  He rubbed his face with one hand, and with the other he closed the laptop.  No doubt to hide whatever he was working one from her, like he usually did whenever anyone from the team tried to see what he was doing.  Artemis never fails to hear about it from M’gann.

“Coffee?”  Dick asked after a moment.

“Sure,”  Artemis answered with a shrug. It’s not what she really wants, but it’s almost too early.

“The machine over there.”  Dick stated, pointing towards the back corner wall of his kitchen.  “Make yourself a pot.”

“Dick,”  She hissed with a smile pulling at her lips as she moved into the kitchen.

Dick breathes something of laugh, and flicks her off as he sipped from his mug loudly.  Artemis rolled her eyes at him as she prepared the machine for a new pot.  

Part of her is half surprised he had such a standard coffee maker and not some fancy coffee machine.  But she doesn’t really mind as she scooped the coffee in or filled the pot up to the desired amount of water.  The movements were simple and the silence was calming.  For moment it all seemed to just fade away enough.  Maybe that was why he had the simple machine.

“What brings you to Bludhaven?”  Dick asked easily, as he spun around on his stool to look at her.

“Recon mission.”  She informed as coffee machine buzzed and trickled.  “Alien arms dealers from France meeting a buyer from Baiyla.”

Dick hummed easily.  She doesn’t doubt he didn’t know about it in someway.  Hell if anything he might have been the one that gave the intel in the first place.  Leaving it up to league and team to handle.

“What brings you to my apartment, at four in the morning?”  He asked simply.

Artemis glanced away for moment.  Letting the sputtering coffee machine fill the room with sound.  She moved to get a mug from one of his cabinet, and quickly poured herself a cup.  She drinks it straight away, not really caring about how it burned or tasted.  None of which were great.

She leaned back against the counter.  Doing her best to think of ways to not immediately answer the question.  Not that Dick seems to mind.  He just watches her with dim light of his kitchen.

“It’s Wally’s birthday, today.”  He supplied flatly after a long moment.

Artemis nodded, absently hugging herself as she drank more of her terrible coffee.

“I--”  She started before stopping herself.  “It never gets easier does it.”

Dick just silently shakes his head at her.  There is a small frown on his face as he did so.  She knows he knows better than anyone else on team what it feels like.  What it feels like deep down.

“I miss him.”  She signed out.

“Me too.”  Dick returned softly.  

“I wish also had something stronger than coffee.”

“I have a collection of top shelf spirits under the sink.”

“You’re twenty.”  Artemis pointed out teasingly.

“Twenty and half, thank you very much,”  Dick returned with a shadow of a smile, and Artemis finds herself laughing.  “And the Wayne Manor has very nice selection to choose from, and I think seven year old Connor bought me one with I moved in here.”  

Artemis found herself laughing harder.  Because she remembered the clone asking about good housewarming gifts, to which she had answered any good bottle of alcohol.  

“I think coffee will have to do for now.”  Artemis returned once she calmed down.

Dick nodded simply at her, before holding out his cup.  “To Wally then.”

“To Wally,” Artemis returned softly.  Not really trusting her voice to be anything higher.

The took deep sips from their cups.  Exchanging sad looks for a brief moment.

“So, poker, Uno, or Scrabble?”  Dick asked after a minute.

Artemis felt her lips pull up.  She transport back to the time when they were younger.  Back when she didn’t know Dick Grayson and Robin were one in the same.  Back to happier sort of times before they grew up.  Back to nights were Dick crawled through her bedroom windows and sat on Jade’s old bed.

“Poker sounds nice.”  She breathed out.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it.
> 
> I through in a random headcanon that I got, that Artemis experience everything in Failsafe because it filtered through her mind like coma dream. She experienced from everyone's point of view and felt everything. I liked it so I kind of put in there, because it kind of explains her demeanor in Disordered better for me.
> 
> Oh and I don't speak any German so I used Google Translate, so sorry if it's terrible.
> 
> Anyway, hope to see you all soon...


End file.
